The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-23
BEECHER AND MARK TWAIN.
The Preacher and the Humorist Have
Joint Novel in Contemplation.
1t Will Be Story of New York Life, in Which
the Fiction Will Be Fact-''MissiOner"
Foote to Figure as One of the Characters.
special to the Indianapolis Jonrna:.

Special to the lnd1anaoois Jonrnas.
NEW YORK, Jan. 22.-Henry Ward Beecher
ana Mark Twain contemplate joint novel. The
scheme is to make story of New York city life,
with pathos by the preacher and humor by the
joker The impediment is Beechers lack of APP
plication in a long job. 1t is remembered how
hard it was for Robert Bonner to get copy reeu-
larly for the installments of Norwood" and it
is feared that the same difficulty would be en-
countered again. In any event. the projected
work will not be completed sooner than two
years hence. But the preliminary collection OF
material has begun, and Mark Twain has been
here this week looking up cases of hypocrisy
and cruelty by pretended philanthropists. The
idea is to use facts in the fiction. Twain went
to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children, and it happened that something of
just about the desired sort was under way.
Benevolence has been reduced to a business
and charity to confidence game by Jane Eliza
Foote who calls herself missioner and lives
by pretending to be q minstering angel to the
poor and an assduous cultivator of the Lords
vineyard. She has snow-white hair and q
very pious expression She imposed on the
credulity and benevolence of great manv peo-
pie. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Children have got hold of her. Mrs. Footo
goes about among the poor and learns enough
about their needs to talk plausibly. She visits
public institutions in the role of philanthropist
and friend of the needy, and makes acquaint-
ances among the really charitable ladies. She
carries some letters Of recommendation, of old
date, purporting to be signed by obscure country
ministers, and these, with the sanctimonious
talk and apparent devotion to charitable work
and errands of mercy. secure for her the
confidence of many persons not over-expert in
judging character. She lives in tenement-fat
on Second avenue, and hires little hall in the
neghborhood. in which she holds gospel meet
ings. 1t is supposed that she lives on the mon
ey, provisions and clothing given to her for dis
trbuting among the poor, as she has no other
visible means of support, except the contribu-
tions raised at her gospel meetings. She calls her
residence Faith Home" Not long ago she got
poor, haf-crazy, epeptc woman from Wards
Island. and by exhibiting her charge to visitors
she induced them to contribute to her fund. At
Yonkers she found Mrs. Brice widow with
several children and offered to a girl, ten years
st age, good heme. The white-haired missioner
said she would send the child to school, give her
music lessons, and bring her up as she would
her own. She had lost dearly beloved daugh
ter and wanted companonsip Hattie Brice
should take the place of her dead one.
The poor child found thai her companion
the feeble minded woman, who had fits. The
missioner was out all day making collections and
she left the epileptic woman and the child to 10
the house work and feed themselves with crusts
Sometimes the two helpless inmates of the Faith
Home had nothing but faith to sustain them for
the day, the missioner leaving them neither food
nor fire. When the old woman had fit, the
frightened child into another room and
locked the door. or hid in a closet shivering
with terror. When Mrs. Foote found a drunken
man at one of the gospel meetings and wanted
to make a show of reforming him, she would
take him to her tenement and leave him there
with the child and the epileptic to sober off at
his leisure. needless of the harm he might do.
Occasionally collections were scarce and pro-
fessional benevolence Improbable and ex-
home in very uncharitabIe temper.
At such times matters went hard
with the benefciaries of the Faith Home. The
i child cot a beating instead OF supper, and the
s~epileptic was fed with scraps and permitted to
look on while the missioner ate good supper.
If they complained of the quality of the food,
shey were assured that dry bread was healthy.
and If it was too hard they could soak it in
water Barrels of apples and vegetables and
bundles of clothing were sent to the missioner
for distribution among the poor. She kept the
provisions for her own use and sold the clothing:
Carpets, furniture and crockery contributed fol
the mission f0und tn61r way TO the second mana
stores. But while food, fire and clothing were
scarce in the Faith Home, prayers We're plenty
In the morning, Mrs. Foote'S devout prayer was
"Dear Lord. be pleased to send me some
money in a letter TO-DAY" or, Deal
or if he must come, send some money
with him." An old crippled woman named Dab
ney was an inmate of the home for six months
and although sh& was supposed to be living OF
the bounty of the pious missioner, she really
paid Mrs Foote 50 a week for her board. Mrs
Dabney was unable to do any work, and q nine
year-old boy was hired to work about the house
The child compelled to scrub the floors every
day. and the work broke him down. For wages
he received at the end of the week a pint O
beans and cent On one cold day Johnny bull
FIRE in the stove to keep Mrs Dabney and tn,
crazy from freezing. Mrs Foote re
turned from preaching expedition in a bat
temper. and to punish the presumptuons inmates
for using coal, she put out the fire with waite
and opened all the windows. twelve-year oil
girl, Hnlda Anderson, went to live in the Faitl
Home and in two months was reduced by har
work and diet of dry bread to pitiful littl
skeleton.
Mrs Foote's neiehbors have become so indig
nant at the treatment of Hattie Brce and tn
crazy woman that they complained to the So
ciety for the Prevention o. Cruelty to Children
and an agent was sent to investigate. He fOun
the two inmates shivering with cold and hun
GER Mrs Foote had gone out to preach and lef
them without fuel or food. The child was take
away and note left, telling the missioner tina
she could find the child in the morning at tn
Harlem police court. Mrs. Foote went to cour
early and tried the efficacy of personal persus
sion and pety upon the justice before the other
arrived She was given two days in which t
produce evidence that she was a proper person
70 nave the custody of a child Mrs. Hall.
neighbor, said she heard Mrs Foote whippia
Hattie for three hours. and Mrs Foote role
her eyes and held up her hands in speeches
protestation. but Mrs. Foote did not come bac
4, court, and the child has been returned to il
mother and the epileptic to the hospital TIL
missioner says she has been maligned and pers
cuted, but she will bear it all in Christian meei
ness.
''When the little girl, the idol of my hear
was taken away from me-" she says. IL was vel
sorry, but friends advised me that it would be I
use to hire a lawyer, SO left it all in the hans
of the Lord